Sustainability Report, Claremont McKenna College

Social Visionary Statement

Claremont McKenna College strives to educate students for thoughtful lives and responsible leadership in business, government, and the professions. Society as a whole benefits from its creative alumni, as well as tangible research by its faculty and institutes. In its social vision, the college provides a safe and rewarding environment for staff, faculty and students to foster critical and responsible thinking.

Social Impediments and Challenges

During the past several years, The College’s operating budget has faced constraints which have limited the College’s ability to pursue new social initiatives.

Commitment to Minimize Staff Turnover

The generous framework of vacation accrual, sick leave accumulation, personal holidays and nationally paid holidays, and a sizeable subsidy to the benefits programs all evidence the College’s effort to retain competent staff and minimize unnecessary turnover. These benefits also include a number of family-friendly policies for faculty and staff, including tuition remission, rental housing, and parental leave policies for faculty and staff.

The College also has a return to work program that assists disabled employees to perform modified duties while maintaining their value and productivity to the workplace.

The College also demonstrated its commitment to job security when all employees of the Collins Dining Hall, who were previously employed by an outside vendor, were made employees of CMC.

Supplier Screening Based on Social Performance

Major suppliers to College are evaluated on their social policies and principles. For example, Bon Appetit was selected to run the College’s dining hall due to its environmental and social awareness. Bon Appetit rejects purveyors that do not support farm workers' rights, contributes to local food banks, and purchases from regional food producers. Students and faculty are given the rare opportunity to eat organic, locally-grown food on a daily basis. Many students at other colleges in the consortium dine at CMC because of its environmental and social consciousness. By selecting suppliers like Bon Appetit, the college supports conscious corporations and demonstrates the link between profitability and sustainability to its business minded students.

A student shows off Bon Appetit's organic produce and farm to fork program. All produce from the Farm to Fork section comes from within a 150 mile radius.

Sustainable Society

Claremont McKenna College’s resource consumption and educational focus reflects its dedication to a sustainable society. The voluntary creation of this report demonstrates a willingness to critically analyze resource use, a first step towards sustainability. Educationally, the college supports the Roberts Environmental Center and the Environment, Economics and Politics (EEP) major. By real-world centered training in science, economics and policy, EEP students think critically, creatively and practically about environmental and social issues. At the Roberts Environmental Center, students, staff and faculty rate the environmental and sustainability reports of the world’s largest corporations. By publicly ranking these reports according to the Pacific Sustainability Index, the center motivates corporate transparency and sustainability. These corporate comparisons are available at http://www.roberts.cmc.edu/. By creating thoughtful and responsible leaders, the college contributes towards a sustainable society.

Dr. Wangari Maathai, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, speaks to students about sustainable development at the Marina Miner Cook Athenaeum.